One Nighter
by Avidreader1993
Summary: Sam and Lara meet each other for the first time on New Years Eve at the Nine Bells. One shot that has been in my head since New Years Eve...


"Tall Guinness…"

"Bud light!"

"Love…you guys serve Corona Light?"

"Yes…we have Corona Light…tall Guinness, that's five pounds. Bud light bottle or draft?" I said in almost one breath. I handed the large man his Guinness as he handed me six pounds.

"Bottle will be fine," the young man answered. I reached in the cooler and grabbed the ice cold beer. "Four," I said before reaching back in and grabbing the other customer's Corona Light. The young man slipped his money on the counter and walked back into the crowd.

After handing the man his Corona and getting the money I was finally able to catch my breath. It's been nonstop since I got in at 11:30 this afternoon and at this moment 30 minutes to midnight there was finally a break. I rested my back against the bar and reached down for my water under the counter; I was debating on bugging Peter for food when another customer came up to the bar that caught my attention.

I watched her lean her elbows on the counter and then lean her body over them. She was looking at the drafts beers while at the same time giving me a full on view down her top. I felt my whole body heat up as I traced my eyes up her chest to her face. She had straight black hair that fell just between her neck and shoulders; her lips had a pinkish lip gloss on them and her eyes were a deep light brown. I wasn't much into Asian looking girls but she had something about her that set her apart. Maybe it was the American looking features mixed in or the stunning tan she was sporting but I was defiantly drawn to her.

She was still looking at the draft beers when I stopped gawking and made my way up to her. "Looking for anything particular?" I asked her. The beautiful girl turned towards me instantly and beamed; her whole face lit up and I felt myself getting lost in her chocolate eyes.

"I don't know…I keep hearing talk of how good Guinness is but I don't see the appeal in having a warm beer," she said. American…defiantly American; she had the accent and experimental wanting to try a Guinness.

"Well what kind of beers do you drink?" I asked. She shifted a bit and leaned even more on to the counter; giving me more of a view. I could see so much that I could tell that she was wearing a pink and white laced bra under her gray tight blouse.

"I don't normally drink beer…I'm more vodka but when I do I like to drink Sam Adams," she told me. I leaned my hands on the counter and raised an eyebrow at her, "Adams…not bad," I commented. Sam Adams was actually one of the few beers I didn't mind. "Do you like the lager and winter?"

"Yeah…"

"Then think of a Guinness like that but warmer and more bitter," I offered. I pushed away from the counter and moved to my right to grab a 16oz glass and began to fill it with Guinness.

I placed the beer in front of her, "try it…on the house," I said winking at her.

Shit…did I just wink? That was not deliberate…shit Croft take a few steps back…

She gave me a smile before lifting the glass to her lips. I watched her every move; it was hard not to…she was captivating.

"Croft!" I jumped at the sound of my name. I turned around to see my boss walking up to me; his large beer belly jiggling with every step he took. He stood in front of me but had to catch his breath before he tried speaking again. "Finish…cleaning and stocking, then you're free to go. I'm gonna have Kerry close tonight," he said still a bit breathless.

"Alright…but I don't mind staying if Kerry wants to leave," I said. Peter let out a chuckle, "Go out…get laid. I don't want you to come into work until you do…you work too much. Now clean up and scram," he finished before walking off to tell Kerry that she was closing.

"I don't think I've ever had a boss tell me to go and get laid," I heard her sweet voice say. I swirled around to face her once again and to my surprise she had already gone through half the Guinness.

"He is only doing it to force me to take a few days…" I commented.

"Let me guess…you don't do one nighters?" she assumed but she was right.

"Not my thing and I have better things to do…" I explained. She shrugged her shoulders before taking another sip of the dark beverage.

"Have you ever had a one nighter?"

"Yeah… a few," I don't know why I'm telling her but for some reason I don't mind telling her.

"How were they?"

"Alright…I don't expect much from one night stands."

"There's the problem…you need to find a man that will rock your night so that you don't expect so little of the next one," she said. I couldn't help the smirk; she assumed I was talking about guys. If she could see the thoughts running through my head right now about her then she would guess otherwise.

"I suppose but I still don't do one nighters," I didn't bother to correct her about who my night one stands were with.

"I bet you're wild in bed thought," she pointed out. I was a little taken back; never had anyone said that to me.

"What…what makes you say that?" I asked.

"It's always the quiet…proper ones that are wild," she said 'proper' in an attempted British accent.

"Mocking me now?" I asked. I rested my elbows on the table so my head was level with her.

"Never..." she whispered and gave me a wink this time. She took the last sip from her glass and placed it down on the counter. "It was okay but I'll take a vodka and cranberry."

I pushed back and made her drink. "If you don't mind…I'll make an inquiry. You seem to be the live like every day is your last type of person; don't you get bored? Don't you want to slow down just a little to enjoy the little moments…" I asked.

She gave me a small smile, "I'm not here alone because I got ditched…this is a choice. I'm alone on New Year's Eve because I want to be…yes there might be a little more to it but I could have gone out and partied but no I came here to drink by myself," she told me.

"Your wrong thought," I said. She lifted an eyebrow at me, "I'm standing here talking to you so you're not alone."

"You're fishing for a tip," she brought up. I leaned in close to her, "That's funny…I don't remember asking you to pay for these drinks," I whispered to her, "Happy New Year."

With that I walked away to go do the rest of my job of cleaning and stocking some of the beers. Every part of me wanted to go back and keep talking but if I stayed I would have ended up disappointed. There was no way I was getting a girl like that so better stop it before anything can happen and besides we were completely different. You can tell that from just looking at her, she was wearing stylish clothes while I wore my regular jeans and football shirt and personality wise we were on opposite sides of the spectrum.

I went into the back and stacked the cases of beers that I needed. When I brought the first batch out I risked a glance in her direction only to be stunned that she was gone and her drink was still half full. "She left when you went into the back," I looked over to see Kerry looking at me. I nodded my head at her and placed the three cases I was carrying on to the floor.

"What was her name?" Kerry asked. I stopped placing the beers in the cooler, "didn't catch it," I admitted. I was surprised myself, usually I always got a name but this time I didn't.

"Just stock those cases and get out of here…you've been here all day. I want you on the other side of this bar before midnight," she demanded. I looked over at the clock and saw that I had eleven minutes to spare.

It didn't take long to finish putting the beers away and cash out with Peter; I was out, as Kerry wished, before midnight. I stepped out into the cool crisp air two minutes before midnight; I let the door close out the sounds of the people getting ready for the New Year. I took in a deep breath and breathed in the night air; I loved winter nights.

"My inquiry is that I think you should live it up a little," I jumped at the sudden voice to my left. Looking over I saw her…she was bundled up in a Northface with a scarf around her neck and red gloves.

"Pardon…?" I asked as I zipped up my blazer and pulled on my gloves. She moved closer to me and as she did I could hear the excitement in the bar grow louder through the door. She was standing within inches of me when the countdown began.

"10…"

I could see and feel the breaths she was taking.

"9…"

The heat radiating off her body was giving me warmth in so many areas.

"8…"

I locked my eyes with her and saw a nervous gleam in them; what was she nervous about?

"7…"

She brought a gloved hand to my face and ran her fingers along my jaw and tucked a loose hair behind my ears.

"6…"

I could hear my heart pounding in my ears.

"5…"

I should be crossed about how close she was but I was the opposite; I was enjoying her standing there.

"4…"

She took a step closer; I was slightly towering over her smaller form.

"3…"

Our shoes were touching and her hand was making its way behind my neck.

"2…"

I'm not sure if it was her doing or just instinct but I felt myself lower my head to hers.

"1…"

I let my eyes close as our lips made contact.

"Happy New Year…"

I could hear the shouts but I could care less. I just wrapped my arms around this beautiful woman's waist and pulled her closer to my body. Her tongue grazed across my lips before pushing its way through. I let out a small moan and felt her wrap her arms tighter around my neck.

The need for air was the reason we finally pulled apart but we didn't pull away from each other. She rested her head on my forehead and had a shy smile on her face. I was still in shock from what just happened but I returned her smile.

She pulled her head back and caressed my cheek, jaw and down my neck with her fingers, "I think your boss will be seeing you tomorrow…"she said.

My brows furrowed, "What…he said…" I trailed off when her words sunk in. "I don't do one nighters," I repeated my words from earlier.

She bit her lip and proceed to play with my loose strands of hair, "who said anything about it being a one nighter?" she pointed out. I eyed her trying to see if she was just pulling my leg but looking into those eyes I saw that she wasn't. She looked back into my eyes with full force; she was putting herself out there for me.

"Lara…Lara Croft," I introduced as I stepped back and held out my hand to her. It was my way of saying I wanted what she was offering. She smiled brightly and giggled a little before grabbing my hand, "Sam Nishimura."

"There's a diner down the street that has great burgers," I offered while releasing her hand and pointing down the street,

"Totally…I'm starved," she expressed. She moved next to me and grabbed my hand and we began walking down the street. We could see several people out in the streets yelling and celebrating.

"I'm glad I slowed down a bit tonight," Sam said breaking the comfortable silence around us. I smiled, "Me too," I told her. Sam rested her head on my shoulder and pressed herself closer to my side.

This was great but there was something that I wanted to know…

"How did you know?" I asked.

"Know what sweetie?"

"That I'd go for the kiss or that I was even gay," I clarified.

"I was watching you earlier and you completely ignored or didn't even noticed the moves that some of the guys were trying to pull on you so I figured you were gay or just oblivious," she said. "Also when I mentioned a guy rocking your world you got a funny look on your face."

"I didn't want to say anything…didn't think it would matter because I honestly thought I didn't have a chance," I confessed.

"I was interested when I walked in," she admitted. "Oh and sweetie…the biggest give away about you being attracted to me was your eyes," she said.

"My eyes?" I questioned. I reached out to grab the door handle and pulled open the diner door.

She didn't step through instead she stepped up to me and cupped one of my cheeks with one of her hands, "Yeah…they had a hard time staying above my neck," she said before pecking my lips and walking in. I felt a blush quickly form on my face; thank god it was cold out.

I took the double shift because I had no plan for New Year and didn't feel like making any. I never guessed that working a double shift would allow me to end my year with a bang and start the New Year with a bang all in one shot. I walked into the diner and saw Sam shedding her jacket and showing off the rest of the curves that I didn't see in the bar; she gave me a sly smile and winked at me.

Happy…New…Year and bring on 2014!


End file.
